Nikon 300 mm f/2.8 Ai-S Lens meets the Nikon D800 :)

So I finally got the 300 mm f/2.8 Ai-S lens and this particular one is the last generation of MF lens prior to the AF line coming out. These lenses were made between March 1986-December 2005 (based on the SN) and have a close focus of 3m. Below are photos of it on my D800 along with the 1.6x AF teleconverter. So with a conversion factor of 1.6x and 1.3 stop it converts the 300 mm to a 480 mm f4.3 on FX and with my D7000 it would then be a 720 mm f4.3. Yowsa! The manual focus ring on this is buttery smooth and positive and one can use a single fingertip to rotate it, amazing. An interesting piece of trivia about this generation of lens is that it is the lightest of all the 300 mm f2.8s that Nikon produced. But gosh this thing is built like a tank.









A shot without the detachable lens hood.



The business end of the less.



I did some testing with my "Resolution Angel" and I was surprised how sharp it was wide open at f2.8, and gets even better by f4. At f16 and 22 diffraction starts to kick in and limit the sharpness. These images are without the converter at close to minimum focus distance of 3m.

EDIT: Forgot to add the original uncropped version of the Resolution Angel shown at f8.





The converter showed noticable vignetting, but otherwise not bad for hand-holding at 480 mm. Below is the view taken with the 50 mm 1.4 G. On the left side of the right frame you will see a white church steeple. I took the 300 mm (480 mm with converter) view just to the right of that steeple.





Here is a shot of a crane that is closer to our building, also taken with the converter, and the converter locked onto this with AF beautifully. I did not manually focus this.



And a 100% crop....



Not bad, huh?

I want one!!!

It still looks good for its age. Nice find and congrats.

Thanks Glenn, here's a closeup of the ID plate taken by the original owner that sold me on this particular lens. I was like, how could a lens this old be in such good condition? Apparently the guy was an exception...a professional that was very careful with his lenses.

I know it is rude,, but how much... you don't have to answer.. but makes one wonder,, 1.5-2.5K?

Including a 39 mm UV haze filter, the modified autofocusing converter, a new Really Right Stuff B97 quick attach plate, a new XX Large Lenscoat Hoodie, and a new Lightware Z300 long lens case (this was a package deal), I'll just say that it was less than $1.5k.

Definitely a great fine and a bargain lens for that price.